Kakamega KUPPET Woman’s Representative Wilbroda Shinanda strongly criticised Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi over the meagre KSh 36 salary increment, stalled teacher promotions, and other unresolved grievances affecting educators.
Shinanda expressed anger that, as a teacher, she was now teaching at Butere Girls’ School in the same job group as the teacher who had taught her.
The Woman Representative was addressing a delegation of over 3,000 teachers convened at Tande High School, graced by Mudavadi, who had come to drum up support for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate in the forthcoming by-election.
“I may die before getting a promotion, and it’s a sad state of affairs in the entire teaching fraternity.” She emphasised and appealed to the government to address it so that promotions are not sought through administrative posts.
The country has 000 schools with almost 400,000 teachers, not all of whom can be administrators. However, Mudavadi was Concerned if teachers can get promotions.
In addition, there is a shortage of teachers at Samitsi Girls, a centre of excellence with 30 teachers paid by the Board of Management (BoM) “How can you manage these? It’s not possible, Mudavadi, you are directly in charge of the funds, the capitation, why can’t you get employment opportunities?” She decried.
As there are newly created sub-counties, Kabras East and West, she called for efforts to commission the two immediately, even before the By-elections, so that when they are advertising for teacher posts, there will be teachers to fill the vacancies.
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“We are suffering, let teachers enjoy the fruits,” Mrs Shinanda lamented, Malava Sub-County being the largest in Kenya. Yet, there are Sub-Counties such as Lamu, which only have around 1,000 teachers when slots are advertised, yet they still receive promotions and can still get an equal share.
“Are you being fair to our policy makers? We cannot allow”, said the Woman Rep, who was about to be snatched a microphone, but immediately she notified the principal of Tande High School that it was the teachers’ day.
“Are you politicians having a more important life than I, a classroom teacher?” She argued and told politicians, while they come to speak and go back to Nairobi, to think about the common teacher, not only in Malava but across the country.
Once teachers’ grievances are resolved, every teacher in Malava will make a sober and solid decision to rally support for the UDA candidate for the Malava Parliamentary seat.
By Hilda Atika
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